Chapter 172: The Might of Thunder and Lightning

The spiritual energy within his body was draining away as if being siphoned off, while the gray clouds above churned violently in the sky.

Not far from Zhou Qing, the flying corpse he had previously repelled with ruthless force had initially intended to attack him once more. However, after a clap of thunder resounded from the heavens, her steps came to a halt.

The roiling gray clouds and the muffled peals of thunder—this sudden phenomenon utterly subdued the flying corpse.

From the moment Zhou Qing pointed skyward with his incantation to the first rumble of thunder, all this transpired in the span of just three breaths.

Within these three breaths, he had stirred this celestial anomaly with his own art. Yet, because of it, more than half of his spiritual energy had been consumed in a matter of moments.

As the thunder echoed in the sky, his upraised finger sensed an intangible force.

It felt as though that force was being drawn down by his finger, and he had no doubt that, should he will it, the strange, invisible power would be pulled from the sky to earth by his command.

This sensation was identical to what he had felt years ago when wielding the Heavenly Thunder Talisman.

As Zhou Qing sensed this power at his fingertip, the flying corpse nearby glanced up at the rolling gray heavens, then, in a blur, sped toward the foot of the mountain.

"Do you think you can escape?"

Watching the apparition’s ghostly flight, Zhou Qing swept his finger toward her, intending to direct the thunder at the fleeing corpse. Yet he found an unseen resistance holding his hand back, preventing him from pointing downward.

The resistance was immense. Even as he tried to force his hand down, his own strength was insufficient to break through.

Thunder was poised in the sky, ready to be drawn down by his will, yet some invisible force barred him from releasing it.

Though he had never experienced such a barrier before, Zhou Qing understood: it was the lack of spiritual energy within himself. If his reserves were sufficient, this resistance would not exist.

Even as he drew the thunder, his spiritual energy continued to deplete rapidly. The lightning he summoned would not descend, and the corpse was nearly out of sight.

He swallowed a second Spirit Restoration Pill, took a deep breath, and, fixing his gaze on the corpse who was about to disappear into the forest at the mountain’s base, gritted his teeth, and with a forceful motion, swept his hand down to point at the fleeing figure.

A deafening crack split the gray sky, and a blinding bolt of white lightning flashed through the bleak world, striking the withered old corpse with unerring precision.

Struck by thunder at Zhou Qing’s command, the flying corpse let out a wretched scream and collapsed at the foot of the mountain, motionless.

Seeing the felled corpse, Zhou Qing, standing amidst the ashen grass on the hillside, slumped to the ground and exhaled deeply.

That last invocation of the Celestial Thunder Talisman had pushed him to the limit. Even with the rapid consumption and replenishment of his spiritual energy, beads of sweat now covered his brow.

After releasing the heavenly thunder, the energy restored by the second Spirit Restoration Pill was nearly spent.

With a heavy sigh, Zhou Qing reluctantly reached to his belt pouch and took out a small bottle.

Inside were the Spirit Restoration Pills Lin Yunxi had given him over two years prior; since entering the northern mountains, he had already consumed three, and after casting the thunder just now, his energy was once more depleted—he would have to take a fourth.

After entering the woods, he had already used four pills, leaving only five left in the small bottle.

The bottle had originally contained ten pills. When Lin Yunxi had given them to him, he had taken one; today, he had consumed four more since entering these mountains.

Once the effects of the pill had restored his energy, Zhou Qing sat a while in the gray grass before continuing toward the northern peaks.

He paid no heed to the corpse lying in the distance, trusting fully in the veracity of his ancestor’s record in the Wandering Notes.

He followed a winding mountain path for nearly half a day, eventually reaching a vast, flat clearing among the peaks.

The ground here was immense, thick with ashen weeds, and as Zhou Qing stepped forward, he noticed bricks beneath the grass.

Judging by the size of the clearing and the bricks beneath the turf, he realized this must have been the town of North Gate, recorded by his ancestor more than four centuries ago.

Over four hundred years had passed; not only was the town deserted, but no trace even of its buildings remained.

Earlier, passing the abandoned village, he had at least glimpsed fragments of walls and broken tiles. Here, not a single structure remained—the ruin of North Gate Town far predated that of the village.

The clearing bore no trace of the former town. After a moment of silent reflection at its edge, just as Zhou Qing prepared to cross the site and head for the northern mountains, small corpses began bounding toward him from all directions.

Yet Zhou Qing paid them little mind. Since he had destroyed the flying corpse and pressed on, more corpses had taken notice of him.

All along his path to North Gate Town, he had attracted the attention of countless zombies; now, as he paused at the town’s edge, these pursuers surged toward him like a tide.

A chorus of guttural roars and shrieks erupted around him as the stiff, wooden bodies leapt at him, their jagged teeth snapping for his flesh, yearning for his blood.

For these unthinking, unfeeling creatures, Zhou Qing merely drew his Phantom Twin Blade and charged straight through the horde.

He did not bother to count how many fell to his blade, for he had slain too many corpses this day to keep track.

Breaking free from the swarm, Zhou Qing wielded his blade, cleaving a pouncing zombie in two before dashing into the forest at the edge of the ruins.

The northern mountains were not far. Standing at the town’s edge, he had glimpsed the peaks shrouded in gray mist and knew that, once he passed through the woods and over two more ridges, he would reach his destination.

He had come here not only to retrieve the Worldly Five Element Pearl, but also to ascend the peak, for atop the mountain lay something left behind by his ancestor, the Sage of Heaven’s Unity.

Though he did not know what exactly was hidden at the summit, the chance discovery of the secret record had left him not only surprised, but with a vague sense of destiny stirring within his heart.